Podcasts about kirkus

Send us a textDavid Downie is a native San Franciscan who moved to Paris in the mid-1980s. He divides his time between France and Italy. A longtime journalist, his travel, food and arts features have appeared in over 50 print magazines and newspapers worldwide and on dozens of websites.David is the award-winning author of six novels and over a dozen acclaimed nonfiction books translated into a variety of foreign languages, including French, Italian, Chinese and Korean. His essays have been published in over a dozen anthologies. Downie graduated from UC Berkeley and Brown University. He is married to photographer Alison Harris. His latest book is Shadows of Rome: A Memoir.Praise for other books by David Downie"Zesty and entertaining."—Kirkus"Delightful and thoroughly researched."—Publishers Weekly"Beautifully written and refreshingly original."—The SF Chronicle"Delightful and insightful."—The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Chicago Tribune"Unequaled poignancy and passion."—National Geographic Traveler“Expertly captures the powerlessness and courage of those in peril."—Booklist"Compelling... a rapturous, history-rich love poem."—The Toronto Star"Fabulous company!"—NPRShadows of Romehttps://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Rome-Memoir-Italy-California/dp/B0DWK5FF27/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 Support the show

Tom McAllister joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about finding the right container for our work trusting our writing to speak for itself, giving ourselves homework, writing constraints as guiding principles, his approach to teaching nonfiction, the challenge of self-promotion, strategies for creating companion pieces, stating things boldly and with confidence, the podcast Book Fight he co-hosts, and how he wrote a short essay for every year of his life and turned it into his new book It All Felt Impossible.:42 Years in 42 Essays. Also in this episode: -trusting the reader -when the well feels dry -handling rejection   Books mentioned in this episode: The Largess of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson My Documents by Alejandro Zambra A Childhood: The Biography of a Place by Harry Cruz The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen   Tom McAllister is the author of the novel How to Be Safe, which was named one of the best books of 2018 by Kirkus and The Washington Post. His other books are the novel The Young Widower's Handbook and the memoir Bury Me in My Jersey. His short stories and essays have been published in The Sun, Best American Nonrequired Reading, Black Warrior Review, and many other places. He is the nonfiction editor at Barrelhouse and co-hosts the Book Fight! podcast with Mike Ingram. He lives in New Jersey and teaches in the MFA Program at Rutgers-Camden.   Tom's article in The Writer's Chronicle: https://writerschronicle.awpwriter.org/TWC/2025-february/preview/04_From-Anecdote-to-Essay-preview.aspx Connect with Tom: tom.mcallister.ws https://www.instagram.com/realpizzatom/ https://bsky.app/profile/tmcallister.bsky.social https://www.facebook.com/tom.mcallister.12   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Betsy Bird is the Collection Development Manager of Evanston Public Library and the former Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She writes for the School Library Journal blog A Fuse #8 Production and reviews for Kirkus. She is the host of the Story Seeds podcast as well as the co-host of the Fuse 8 n' Kate podcast that she creates with her sister. Betsy is the author of picture books, anthologies, and the middle grade novel Long Road to the Circus, illustrated by David Small. In this, our second interview we celebrate her new picture book Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme, illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi (Union Square Kids, March, 2025). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Page One Podcast, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.About the guest authors:Jon Chandonnet is a life coach, author of Shadow Summit: A Journey from.M.S. to The Other Side of Impossible and found of VibrantU Academy. At thirty-three, Jon thought living a vibrant life meant setting goals and working long hours and hard days to make things happen. Living by that credo he accomplished a lot. He earned his master's from MIT, led teams to develop software to launch startups, ran a couple marathons, and scaled several 14,000-foot California peaks. Jon was well on his way—or so he thought—but he was a ticking time bomb.He'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years earlier. He ignored it completely and instead pushed himself to extremes. He lived in denial—ignoring his diagnosis in hopes of literally outrunning the disease. The running ended and the disease caught up. Jon's health declined and led him on an eight-year odyssey to understand life's essential elements. He wanted to find a way to minimize the impact of the disease. He wanted his health back and to create a full life despite the MS.  During the journey, Jon found seven essential elements allowing him to track daily actions and habits in pursuit of the healthiest, most fulfilled, and joyful life possible. He realized others could benefit from the insights. Jon found a way to simplify life, strip away the chaos and unimportant to focus on what matters. The result was the 7 VIBRANTs ™ well-being system.About the host:Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup that built an AI book discovery platform with a grant from the National Science Foundation. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. Her latest book, Rose Girl: A Story of Roses and Resilience, a medieval, mystical thriller was awarded a Kirkus (starred) review and named Editors Choice from the Historical Novel Society. Holly lives on a houseboat near the Golden Gate Bridge with her daughter and Labrador retriever, and enjoys mountain biking, hiking, swimming and pretending to surf. To learn more about her books and writing coaching services, please visit her at hollylynnpayne.com  and subscribe to her FREE weekly mini-masterclass, Power of Page One, a newsletter on Substack, offering insights on becoming a better storyteller and tips on hooking readers from page one! (And bonus: discover some great new books!)Tune in and reach out:If you're an aspiring writer or a book lover, this episode of Page One offers a treasure trove of inspiration and practical advice. I offer these conversations as a testament to the magic that happens when master storytellers share their secrets and experiences. We hope you are inspired to tune into the full episode for more insights. Keep writing, keep reading, and remember—the world needs your stories. If I can help you tell your own story, or help improve your first page, please reach out @hollylynnpayne or visithollylynnpayne.com. You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players. Hear past episodes. If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime. The Page One Podcast is created on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community! Be well and keep reading,Holly Power of Page One, Substacka free weekly mini-masterclass@hollylynnpayne on IG Thank you for listening to the Page One Podcast! I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I loved hosting, producing, and editing it. If you liked it too, here are three ways to share the love:Please share it on social and tag @hollylynnpayne.Leave a review on your favorite podcast players. Tell your friends. Please keep in touch by signing up to receive my Substack newsletter with the latest episodes each month. Delivered to your inbox with a smile. You can contact me at @hollylynnpayne on IG or send me a message on my website, hollylynnpayne.com.For the love of books and writers,Holly Lynn Payne@hollylynnpaynehost, author, writing coachwww.hollylynnpayne.com

Atlantic staffer David A. Graham joins us to discuss The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America (Random House, April 22). “A close look at the ultra-rightist Project 2025, now playing in a capital near you,” Kirkus writes in a review that calls Graham's work “essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the Trumpian maelstrom.” Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On our Best May Books episode, Kirkus' editors share their top titles for the month. Then novelist Brendan Slocumb joins us to discuss The Dark Maestro (Bloomsbury, May 13), a musical thriller in which a cello prodigy must battle a cadre of criminals to reclaim his promising future. Kirkus: “This novel should catapult Slocumb into the upper echelon of thriller authors" (starred review).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when the person writing obituaries accidentally publishes his own? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with John Kenney on his new novel I See You've Called in Dead.Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio affiliate! John Kenney is the author of three novels and four books of poetry. His first novel, Truth In Advertising, won the Thurber Prize for American humor. He is also the author of Talk To Me, which received a starred Kirkus review. He is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine's Shouts & Murmurs. For more show information visit: www.MariannePestana.com

The Page One Podcast, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.About the guest authors:Clark Strand and Perdita Finn are the co-founders of the non-denominational international fellowship The Way of the Rose, which inspired their book The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary. Clark Strand is an American author and lecturer on spirituality and religion. A former Zen Buddhist monk, he was the first Senior Editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and is the author of six other books  including: Meditation without Gurus, How to Believe in God, Waking the Buddha, Now is The Hour of Her Return, Seeds from a Birch Tree and Waking Up to The Dark. He moved to Woodstock, New York, to write and teach full-time. Perdita Finn is the author of several children's books has done extensive study with Zen masters, priests, and healers and she apprenticed with the psychic Susan Saxman, with whom she wrote The Reluctant Psychic. She is the author of the middle grades novels including the Time Flyers series for Scholastic Books, My Little Pony Books, among many others. In addition to being a ghostwriter, book doctor, copy editor and writing teacher, she has a lively Substack called Take Back the Magic inspired by her book Take Back the Magic: Conversations with the Unseen World and teaches popular workshops on Collaborating with the Other Side, in which participants are empowered to activate the magic in their own lives with the help of their ancestors. She and Clark live in the Catskill Mountains of New York.About the host:Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup that built an AI book discovery platform with a grant from the National Science Foundation. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. Her latest book, Rose Girl: A Story of Roses and Resilience, a medieval, mystical thriller was awarded a Kirkus (starred) review and named Editors Choice from the Historical Novel Society. Holly lives on a houseboat near the Golden Gate Bridge with her daughter and Labrador retriever, and enjoys mountain biking, hiking, swimming and pretending to surf. To learn more about her books and writing coaching services, please visit her at hollylynnpayne.com  and subscribe to her FREE weekly mini-masterclass, Power of Page One, a newsletter on Substack, offering insights on becoming a better storyteller and tips on hooking readers from page one! (And bonus: discover some great new books!)Tune in and reach out:If you're an aspiring writer or a book lover, this episode of Page One offers a treasure trove of inspiration and practical advice. I offer these conversations as a testament to the magic that happens when master storytellers share their secrets and experiences. We hope you are inspired to tune into the full episode for more insights. Keep writing, keep reading, and remember—the world needs your stories. If I can help you tell your own story, or help improve your first page, please reach out @hollylynnpayne or visit hollylynnpayne.com. You can listen to Page One on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and all your favorite podcast players. Hear past episodes. If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime. The Page One Podcast is created on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community! Be well and keep reading,Holly@hollylynnpayne on IG Thank you for listening to the Page One Podcast! I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I loved hosting, producing, and editing it. If you liked it too, here are three ways to share the love:Please share it on social and tag @hollylynnpayne.Leave a review on your favorite podcast players. Tell your friends. Please keep in touch by signing up to receive my Substack newsletter with the latest episodes each month. Delivered to your inbox with a smile. You can contact me at @hollylynnpayne on IG or send me a message on my website, hollylynnpayne.com.For the love of books and writers,Holly Lynn Payne@hollylynnpaynehost, author, writing coachwww.hollylynnpayne.com

#1 New York Times bestselling author, Susannah Cahalan, spoke to me about her writing process, witch candles, and stepping into the shoes of psychedelic pioneer Rosemary Woodruff Leary in her new biography THE ACID QUEEN. Susannah Cahalan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her first book, Brain on Fire, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Her second book, The Great Pretender, was shortlisted for the Royal Society's 2020 Science Book Prize. Her latest biography The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary, “...chronicles the life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary (1935–2002), a prominent figure in the 1960s psychedelic movement and Timothy Leary's wife from 1967 through 1976.”  Kirkus gave THE ACID QUEEN a glowing review, calling it a “well-wrought narrative that brings deserved attention to a lost figure in the counterculture,” and Publishers Weekly called it a “... stranger than fiction story [that offers] a vivid portrait of how flower power cracked up in the '70s.” Susannah Cahalan has been profiled in the New York Times, featured as an answer on Jeopardy!: delivered a TEDx Talk, and appeared as a guest on The Today Show, PBS, BBC's Inside Science, and Fresh Air, among many others. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Susannah Cahalan and I discussed: The throughline that connects all of her books Synchronicities that led her to the life story of a psychedelic icon How she used the research process to fully immerse herself in Rosemary's persona What she's learned over the course of her writing career Why you need to find time for “deep work” to get the pages And a lot more! Show Notes: susannahcahalan.com The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary By Susannah Cahalan (Amazon) Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (Amazon) The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch Susannah Cahalan on Facebook Susannah Cahalan on Instagram Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Inkitt, Publishers Weekly, and Eric Smith. Then, stick around for a chat with Alan Lastufka!Alan Lastufka is a Hoffer Award-winning author and the owner of Shortwave, an independent small press. He writes horror, supernatural, and magical realism stories.His debut novel, Face the Night, received a starred Kirkus review, was a finalist for Best New Horror Novel at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and won the 2022 Hoffer Award for Best Commercial Fiction. It was also listed as one of the 100 Best Indie Books of the Year by Kirkus.When he's not writing, or recording with his band, The Caulden Road, Alan enjoys walking through Oregon's beautiful woods with his partner, Kris.

Jess is back, and she and Trisha catch up on news and books — specifically, outdoorsy romance. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. To get even more romance recs and news, sign up for our Kissing Books newsletter! Trust your reading list to the experts at Tailored Book Recommendations! The professional book nerds (aka bibliologists) at TBR have recommended over 160,000 books to readers of all kinds. Let TBR match you with your next favorite read! Simply fill out a quick survey about what you want more of in your reading life, and your bibliologist will scour their bookish knowledge to find three reads they think you'll love. Choose from receiving just the recommendations via email, or opt to have paperbacks or hardcovers delivered right to your door. Get started for only $18 at mytbr.co! This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. News Consider preordering To L.A. With Love: A Charity Anthology More AI…sigh. [Bloomberg] The top fiction 100 books of the 21st Century from Kirkus include 6 romances!  There's a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice! So, great, I guess…! Books Discussed Marriage Bargain with the Comte by Parker J. Cole Fan Service by Rosie Danan Losing Sight by Tati Richardson Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly Love Letters from the Trail by Tif Marcelo Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb Cubs and Campfires by Dylan Drakes (Trust) Falling With You by Charish Reid Let us know what you're reading, what you're thinking, and what you're thinking about what you're reading! As always, you can find Jess and Trisha at the WIR email address (wheninromance@bookriot.com). You can also find us on Twitter (@jessisreading), or Instagram (@jess_is_reading and @trishahaleybrown), and Jess is even on TikTok (@jess_isreading). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/bonus-passover-interview-next-year-in.html  Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder, written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a nonfiction picture book that gives us the true backstory of how Passover first came to be celebrated in the White House. It's a stunning book; it received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, and was named to the Association of Jewish Libraries' Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights list. Because this is a true story, I was able to interview one of the "characters" -- Eric Lesser, seen in the photo above, walking with President Obama. Lesser worked on the Obama campaign trail in 2008, and later became a White House aide. He's also served as a Massachusetts State Senator. He agreed to answer ten questions about the events covered in Next Year in the White House. Read the interview on The Book of Life blog. LEARN MORE: Buy or borrow Next Year in the White House Websites of author Richard Michelson and illustrator E.B. Lewis Article in The Forward about the book Eric Lesser's Instagram A history of Passover celebrations in the White House Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights booklist (includes Next Year at the White House) Subscribe to The Book of Life's Substack newsletter

Kirkus released its list of the Best Picture Books of the 21st Century and we wanted to do one of the books they included! So Betsy went to GREAT LENGTHS to get her hands on today's book. Folks... she had to go all the way.... to Skokie. That doggone beautiful library system. But it was worth it! Our very first Lauren Child is on the podcast! We talk about how Charlie and Lola were the Bluey of their day, weird Girl Scouts, and we'll tell you that our own picky eating definitely comes to the fore. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/07/fuse-8-n-kate-i-will-never-not-ever-eat-a-tomato-by-lauren-child/

Discover Lafayette is thrilled to welcome Kiki Frayard, founder of Kiki, a boutique store known for its exquisite selection of fine jewelry, fragrances, handbags, and other carefully curated items from designers across the world. While Kiki is known for offering unique designs, Kiki says, "Anybody can walk in to buy fun or lower price point jewelry at $75 to $250. We also offer jewelry up to $65,000." In addition to her successful retail business, Kiki recently ventured into children's literature with her book Lila Says No, cleverly illustrated by Aileen Bennett. Her passion for beauty and creativity extends beyond retail, as seen on her vibrant Instagram page, where she shares colorful and inspirational table settings for various events. Kiki, an Opelousas native, has strong ties to the Lafayette community. She is the sister of Marilyn Castle, retired 15th JDC judge, and Joan Dubuisson of Cox Business. She graduated from UL-Lafayette with degrees in Art History and English, initially intending to become an art teacher before discovering her passion for advertising and retail. Her career has been a fascinating journey, including stints as a nightclub singer in New Orleans, a radio advertising executive, and an ad agency owner. Working alongside advertising legend George Graham, Kiki honed her skills in creative writing and marketing, ultimately paving the way for her entrepreneurial success. Kiki opened her boutique in River Ranch after gaining invaluable retail experience from Molly Flanagan, owner of Molly's. She and her daughter, Katie, built the business together, expanding to Baton Rouge and establishing Kiki as a premier shopping destination. A life-changing car accident in 2007 prompted Kiki to embrace retail fully, leaving advertising to focus on her boutique. She and Katie meticulously designed the store, ensuring an elevated shopping experience comparable to high-end retailers in New York and beyond. Kiki says, "We knew we wanted to do something nice. We didn't want it to be a hodgepodge of display cases and just thrown together. We really wanted it to be the nicest store in Lafayette. "We had a vision of doing jewelry with designers in mind so that every case was dedicated to a designer. The handbags were displayed one on a shelf to make it seem really special so that everything seemed a little elevated. That worked when people walked in the store. Also, with most merchandise, if you don't turn it, you got to put it on sale, you've got to get rid of it, you got to turn. But jewelry isn't like that. We could have an expensive piece of jewelry and it could be there for two years, and then someone comes in and and buys it. So you don't have to discount quite as much. The same thing with perfume." Beyond retail, Kiki has made a mark in the Lafayette community. She played a crucial role in the development of Lafayette's downtown playground, recognizing its value in revitalizing the area. Her passion for community enrichment continues to shape her contributions to the city's cultural and economic landscape. Kiki's love for creativity extends to her personal life, where she enjoys setting stunning tablescapes for family gatherings. Her collections of fine china and linens reflect her impeccable taste and appreciation for beauty. Her foray into children's literature has been met with great enthusiasm. Lila Says No is resonating with parents and educators, with notable endorsements from child psychologist Carolyn Helm. The book received a glowing review rom Kirkus as "quirky and entertaining, with a kid and parent-savvy message." Kiki's deep admiration for children's literature and her collection of over 500 books inspired her to finally write her own story, with more books potentially on the horizon. Though retired from store ownership, Kiki remains an integral part of Kiki, still attending market trips and influencing the store's aesthetic.

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!It's time for the next installment of our Banned Books Series! This month's book is The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Published in 2018, The Poet X tells the story of a 15-year-old Dominican American girl finding her voice as she grows up and comes to terms with life, school, and family.Although The Poet X is classified as a Young Adult book there's more than enough substance for "not so young" adults to hold on to. Join us in the discussion and let us know what you thought of the book if you've already read it or let us know what has tempted you to pick it up if you haven't yet. About Elizabeth Acevedo:Elizabeth Acevedo was the 2022 Young People's Poet Laureate and the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist.She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo is also a National Poetry Slam Champion.Support the showBe part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

In this essential episode, we dive deep into the Profit First methodology and its game-changing impact on medical practices. Susanne Mariga, fractional CFO and co-author of "Profit First for Minority Business Enterprises," shares how implementing a simple five-bank-account system can create intentional profitability while improving patient care. This conversation addresses the critical gap in business education for medical professionals and offers practical solutions for building sustainable, profitable practices. Key Points: The traditional accounting equation (revenue - expenses = profit) often leads to practice owners working for free How the Profit First system creates intentional profitability through designated bank accounts Why profitable practices deliver better patient care and attract top talent The importance of building business value for eventual sale or retirement Practical steps for implementing Profit First, starting with small, manageable changes How automated banking systems can help enforce profitability The connection between practice profitability and work-life balance Resource Highlight: "Profit First for Minority Business Enterprises" by Susanne Mariga and Mike Michalowicz Each book purchase supports girls' education in Zimbabwe through Hope Worldwide Includes specific strategies for implementing Profit First Features tax strategy and pricing guidance for business owners Susanne's Bio: Susanne Mariga is a CPA and Fractional CFO specializing in high net worth tax strategies for 7 and 8 figure entrepreneurs using the Profit First System.  Susanne is the CEO of The Mariga Group which is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business, the 2021 Profit First Professional Firm Of The Year, and a recipient of the 2011 Houston Minority Supplier Development E-10 Award.  Susanne has been featured in the Houston Business Journal, MBE Magazine, and in a variety of other media outlets. She is the author of Kirkus reviewed and Publisher's Weekly's Editor's Pick, Profit First For Minority Business Enterprises which was written in collaboration with Mike Michalowicz, under the Profit First brand. She is the host of the Profit Talk Podcast.   Before founding her own firm, Susanne worked at Arthur Andersen LLP, as well as one of the Big 4 firms, KPMG.  Combining her industry knowledge with her own experience of growing a small business has allowed Susanne to help her clients design unique, profit-first based business plans that ensure success and long-term financial stability. As a Certified Profit First Professional (PFP) at the Mastery Level, she is passionate about helping entrepreneurs maximize their revenue, grow their business, and save dollars through sound tax strategies.   Find Susanne: Profit First for Minority Business Enterprises Company Website LinkedIn Susanne's Website Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy's LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page Thriving Practice Community Instagram  

On this special episode of Fully Booked, Kirkus' editors join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the current issue of Kirkus Reviews celebrating the best books of the 21st Century (so far). Then each editor chooses one book from the past 25 years they think everyone should read.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author Roger Newman joins Artstar and Joe to discuss his novel, BOYS. Imagine a young boy whose family is killed by the Ku Klux Klan during the Great Depression and is raised by the farmer whose farm he hides on, alongside the farmer's son. The two boys—one Black, one White— come to view themselves as brothers. When the brothers head off to fight in segregated military units in World War II, they are separated by diverging military careers and escalating racial hostility. This is the true story of South Carolina author Roger Newman's North Carolina family, and the inspiration for his fifth novel, BOYS, newly released on January 14 (Koehler Books). Newman was compelled to write the book after learning about his Black uncle who disappeared during World War II. BOYS, which has been touted by Kirkus as “A powerful and nuanced novel about racial tensions in 20th-century America,” paints a vivid picture of many lesser-known aspects of history, from service in WWII to Vietnam and beyond.

You are listening to "Two Zero Q - 20 Questions With Interesting People," the show that tells the 'Origin Stories' of everyday superheros in the lgbtqi community and friends.Our guest this time is Tony Keith, PhD.Join me as Tony and I discuss Knucklehead, a YA poetry collection, which is written as a series of letters to Black boys and men, especially the gay and queer ones, that is full of black-and-white illustrations and unforgettable poetry that will heal, provoke and inspire. While society often assigns the label “knucklehead” to kids with attitude problems, this brilliant and electric poetry collection by spoken word poet and hip-hop educator Tony Keith Jr. subverts that narrow way of thinking and empathizes with young people who are misunderstood and unheard.Among other topics, we talk about race, sexuality, privilege and common ground. “A love letter in verse to Black boys and men….Will resonate deeply with readers and poets on a path of self-discovery.” ~ Kirkus Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Nadler is the author of Wise Men, The Inseparables, and Rooms for Vanishing, and the short story collection The Book of Life. His work has been named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus and Amazon, a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writer selection, a finalist for the Mark Twain Prize for the American Voice, and has been translated across Europe. He is a recipient of the 5 Under 35 Award from the National Book Foundation. He teaches in the MFA program at Bennington College.

What do YOU really know about Climate Science? What if your kids could explain it to you in an easy-to-understand way? That's the premise of Ruth Spiro's latest book 'How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up" and her entire 'how to explain' series! Ruth stops by the show this week to discuss her latest books and how we can empower kids and use their love of knowledge to help explain things to us, grown-ups, which we typically might not be able to wrap our mind around. It's a great conversation and I can't wait for you to hear it, enjoy! About Ruth Spiro Ruth Spiro is the author of more than 30 children's books, with over one million copies in print worldwide. Her bestselling Baby Loves Science board books are the groundbreaking originals that introduce big ideas to the littlest listeners in an age-appropriate and engaging style. The series has been praised by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, TODAY, Popular Science, Working Mother, and more. Fans who have publicly shared their love of her books include former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, Chelsea Clinton, and Chance the Rapper. The enthusiastic response to the Baby Loves Science books inspired a new picture book series perfect for early elementary readers, How to Explain Science to a Grown-Up. In addition, Ruth is the author of picture books including Made by Maxine, Maxine and the Greatest Garden Ever, Love Grows, and One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story, which received starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus. Ruth graduated with a B.S. in Communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and earned an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago. She worked for advertising agencies in both account management and broadcast production, and coordinated a large-scale research grant at DePaul University funded by the National Institutes of Health. Her articles and essays have been published in FamilyFun, The Writer, CHILD, and Chicago Parent. Ruth's stories have also been included in popular anthologies, notably The Right Words at the Right Time, edited by Marlo Thomas, and several Chicken Soup for the Soul titles. Ruth's work has won awards and recognition from the National Science Teaching Association, the Mathical Book Prize, Junior Library Guild, Science Friday, Bank Street College of Education, Illinois Reads, Purdue Engineering, Willamette Writers, and Writer's Digest. A frequent speaker at schools and conferences, Ruth's previous appearances include Windy City Live on ABC-TV, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, World Science Festival, Chicago Tribune Printer's Row LitFest, Children's Festival of Stories, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She hopes her books inspire kids to observe the world, ask questions, and when it comes to their futures, DREAM BIG!   About 'How to Explain Climate Science to a Grown-Up' Do you want to know a secret? Sometimes grown-ups need YOU to explain things to THEM. Like climate science! In this tongue-in-cheek guide, an in-the-know narrator instructs kid readers in the fine art of explaining climate science to a grown-up. Both children and their adults learn: The difference between weather and climate. How climate scientists collect data. What causes climate change. What we can do to reverse course and repair the planet. Fun and fact-filled, the How to Explain Science to a Grown-Up series will empower kid experts to explore complex scientific concepts with any grown-up who will listen. Make sure to check out the Dtalkspodcast.com website! Thanks to Empire Toys for this episode of the podcast! Nostalgia is something everyone loves and Empire Toys in Keller Texas is on nostalgia overload.   With toys and action figures from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today, Empire Toys is a one-stop-shop for a trip down memory lane and a chance to reclaim what was once yours (but likely sold at a garage sale)   Check out Empire Toys on Facebook, Instagram, or at TheEmpireToys.com AND Thanks to Self Unbound for this episode of the podcast: Your quality of life: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, is a direct reflection of the level of abundant energy, ease, and connection your nervous system has to experience your life!    At Self Unbound, your nervous system takes center stage as we help unbind your limited healing potential through NetworkSpinal Care.    Access the first steps to your Unbound journey by following us on Facebook, Instagram, or at www.selfunbound.com

Karen Russell discusses her eagerly anticipated second novel, The Antidote (Knopf, March 11). “In the wake of the destructive Black Sunday dust storm in 1935, four outcasts dare to offer their dying town a radical vision of the future,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of this “storytelling tour de force” that “lives up to the promise of its name.” Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Karen Russell discusses her eagerly anticipated second novel, The Antidote (Knopf, March 11). “In the wake of the destructive Black Sunday dust storm in 1935, four outcasts dare to offer their dying town a radical vision of the future,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of this “storytelling tour de force” that “lives up to the promise of its name.” Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

On our Best March Books episode, Kirkus' editors share their top titles for the month. Then Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami joins us to discuss her latest novel, The Dream Hotel (Pantheon, March 4). Kirkus: “A woman is detained under an American regime where even dreams are being surveilled….An engrossing and troubling dystopian tale” (starred review).

Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/gareth-hinds Graphic novels are experiencing something of a renaissance recently. As the medium has gained popularity, notable thinkers like Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari and the late John Lewis have brought their stories to life beautifully in graphic novel form. Gareth Hinds has played a big role in shaping the medium. His graphic novel adaptations of The Iliad, The Odyssey, Macbeth, Beowulf, and King Lear have brought new readers and new perspectives to these classic tales. Count us in that group of his readers looking at these ancient stories differently. We speak with Gareth about his creative and editorial workflow, and how he turns challenging works from Shakespeare, Homer, and others into a graphic novel. We also talk about how his background in video game design influences his work, and how he chooses stories that lend themselves well to his style of illustration. Bio Gareth Hinds is the creator of critically-acclaimed graphic novels based on literary classics, including Beowulf (which Publisher's Weekly called a “mixed-media gem”), King Lear (which Booklist named one of the top 10 graphic novels for teens), The Merchant of Venice (which Kirkus called “the standard that all others will strive to meet” for Shakespeare adaptation), The Odyssey (which garnered four starred reviews and a spot on ten “best of 2010” lists), Romeo and Juliet (which Kirkus called “spellbinding”), and Macbeth (which the New York Times called “stellar” and “a remarkably faithful rendering”). Gareth is a recipient of the Boston Public Library's “Literary Lights for Children” award. His books can be found in bookstores and English classrooms across the country, and his illustrations have appeared in such diverse venues as the Society of Illustrators, the New York Historical Society, and over a dozen published video games. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you'd like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you'll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books, as well as our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. Upgrade to paid *** Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Masterclass: MasterClass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200+ of the world's best. People like Steph Curry, Paul Krugman, Malcolm Gladwell, Dianne Von Furstenberg, Margaret Atwood, Lavar Burton and so many more inspiring thinkers share their wisdom in a format that is easy to follow and can be streamed anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart TV, or even in audio mode. MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to http://masterclass.com/designbetter for the current offer. *** If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.com If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.com

On a special episode celebrating debut authors, Erin Crosby Eckstine discusses her novel, Junie (Ballantine, Feb. 4), who Kirkus calls “a talented writer to watch.” “On the eve of the Civil War, an enslaved Black teen awakens her sister's ghost and embarks on a dangerous journey to freedom in this debut novel,” Kirkus writes in a review. “Featuring a spirited protagonist, this compelling mix of the historical and the supernatural will resonate.” Then our editors highlight some more of the season's most exciting debuts.

Content Warning: Light ProfanityEpisode Description: Science Communicator Tyus Williams tells us a story on this year Black History Month of his late night epiphany on the interconnectedness of ourselves to the world around us and that the beauty of this Earth is a rarity worth protecting.In their own words: Tyus Williams is a third-year Ph.D. Candidate and NSF fellow at the University of California, Berkeley in the Schell lab and Brashares Lab studying carnivore ecology and spatial ecology. Currently, he's studying how the ecological impacts from free-roaming domestic cats in the East Bay region might be facilitated by urban environments. Utilizing research techniques such as camera trapping and analyzing behavioral patterns, Tyus is interested in revealing how human-dominated landscapes may indirectly mediate collision within wildlife communities. In 2022, upon entering graduate school, he debuted with his first book alongside Macmillan publishing titled ‘A Day in the Life: Big Cats', which received a Kirkus star review, and placed within the ‘Best Picture Books of 2022 for the Animal Lovers' book list. Lastly, Tyus is also a passionate science communicator, firmly believing that people cannot fully harness the intellectual merits of science without engaging the public in an inclusive effort.Help us keep making the show: Patreon.com/WeOutHerePodTwitter and IG @TheWeOutHerePodStart learning about whose land you're on and begin taking action https://native-land.ca/Organize and Democratize Your Workplace: https://perfectunion.us/how-to-form-a-unionOutdoor Cats' Impact on Nature:https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380Resisting Late Stage EcoFascism:1.) Get involved locally.  There are environment, climate change issues that are impacting your community. Get involved on the local, grassroots level.2.) Don't get discouraged.  Get informed, know the facts (and yes, there is such a thing as factual information) and don't lose your resolve.

Paul Lisicky discusses Song So Wild and Blue: A Life With the Music of Joni Mitchell (HarperOne, Feb. 25). Kirkus calls his latest memoir “a beautiful tribute to a legendary musician and the act of creation” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

On our Best February Books episode, Kirkus' editors share their top titles for the month. Then Kate Beaton joins us to discuss her funny and fierce new picture book, Shark Girl (Roaring Brook Press, Feb. 25). Kirkus: “Stand aside, little mermaids. The true, pointy-toothed protector of the seas is here!”

Content Warning: Light Profanity Episode Description: Science Communicator Tyus Williams tells us a story on this year Black History Month of his late night epiphany on the interconnectedness of ourselves to the world around us and that the beauty of this Earth is a rarity worth protecting. In their own words: Tyus Williams is a third-year Ph.D. Candidate and NSF fellow at the University of California, Berkeley in the Schell lab and Brashares Lab studying carnivore ecology and spatial ecology. Currently, he's studying how the ecological impacts from free-roaming domestic cats in the East Bay region might be facilitated by urban environments. Utilizing research techniques such as camera trapping and analyzing behavioral patterns, Tyus is interested in revealing how human-dominated landscapes may indirectly mediate collision within wildlife communities. In 2022, upon entering graduate school, he debuted with his first book alongside Macmillan publishing titled ‘A Day in the Life: Big Cats', which received a Kirkus star review, and placed within the ‘Best Picture Books of 2022 for the Animal Lovers' book list. Lastly, Tyus is also a passionate science communicator, firmly believing that people cannot fully harness the intellectual merits of science without engaging the public in an inclusive effort. Help us keep making the show: Patreon.com/WeOutHerePod Twitter and IG @TheWeOutHerePod Start learning about whose land you're on and begin taking action https://native-land.ca/ Organize and Democratize Your Workplace: https://perfectunion.us/how-to-form-a-union

In this episode of The Wise Woman Podcast, Erin Doppelt chats with Tara Schuster, a former Comedy Central executive turned author and coach, about her journey from the chaos of a difficult childhood to becoming her own source of healing. Tara opens up about her struggles with anxiety and depression and how a rock-bottom moment led her to take control of her mental health through daily practices like journaling, exercise, and gratitude. She shares powerful insights into how to create a life that doesn't drain you, offering practical tools like her “values filter” for making decisions that align with your true self. The conversation dives deep into Tara's transformation and the rituals that helped her find stability, purpose, and a new sense of joy. Tara Schuster is an accomplished entertainment executive turned mental health advocate and best-selling author of the runaway hit, Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies and Other Rituals to Fix Your Life from Someone Who's Been There. She has sold over 250,000 books to date in the U.S. alone. With her unique blend of hilarious, poignant personal stories and refreshingly honest, optimistic advice, Tara launched intothe book world as the millennial voice the self-help space craved. In January of 2024, Tara released the paperback edition of her highly-anticipated second book, Glow in the F*cking Dark: Simple Practices to Heal Your Soul, from Someone Who Learned the Hard Way -- a relatable, easy-to-follow guide to healing your deepest soul wounds, getting off your “good enough” plateau, developing habits that will give you lasting courage and resolve, and creating the spectacular life that you actually want. Full of practical, free baby-steps we can take today, it's for people who are ready to liberate themselves from their emotional suffering, discover their purpose, and finally sit in the driver's seat of their experience. Kirkus has called GLOW “an approachable, exuberant combination of memoir and self-help.” Tara's Instagram You can buy Erin's book Nothing Can Stop You Here. If you buy 25 books you get a 1:1 session with Erin, just email receipt to hello@erinracheldoppelt.com Join Erin inside Nourish Tuscany

Environmental and climate activist Catherine Coleman Flowers discusses Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope (Spiegel & Grau, Jan. 28), and essay collection Kirkus calls “a passionate and thoughtful exploration of social injustice” (starred review). And in a sponsored interview, Megan speaks with Cheryl Willis Hudson and London Ladd, the author and the illustrator of When I Hear Spirituals (Holiday House, Jan. 5), “an exuberant and picturesque celebration of African American spirituals” (starred review). Then our editors share their top picks in books for the week.

Welcome to a very special episode of Moon to Moon. Our honored guest is Mother Witch Amanda Yates Garcia, also known as The Oracle of Los Angeles. Amanda has long been someone I deeply admire as a leader of integrity, honesty, wisdom, and inspiration. Amanda is incredibly smart, wildly magnetic, and wholly grounded in her devotion.  What happened here was a gift. And it's an honor to share this conversation with you today. May it be a lantern to light your heart and to lift your spirit.   Thank you, Amanda.  Amanda Yates Garcia is a writer, witch, and the Oracle of Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The LA Times, The SF Chronicle, The London Times, CNN, BRAVO, as well as a viral appearance on FOX. She has led rituals, classes and workshops on magic and witchcraft at UCLA, UC Irvine, MOCA, The Hammer Museum, LACMA, The Getty and many other venues. Amanda hosts monthly moon rituals online, and the popular Between the Worlds podcast, which looks at the Western Mystery traditions through a mythopoetic lens. Her book, Initiated: Memoir of a Witch, received a starred review from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly and has been translated into six languages. To find out more about her work become a member of her Mystery Cult on Substack.   +++ Learn more about The Magician's Table 2025 and find out who the 13th readers are here.  Applications open Feb 14 for Early Bird weekend (Feb 14-16).  To apply that weekend, you must be on the waitlist. Join the waitlist here. +++ E M E R G E N C E  A S T R O L O G Y ⁠⁠https://brittenlarue.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@brittenlarue ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Order Living Astrology⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join my newsletter here Check out my new podcast CRYSTAL BALLERS on Spotify, Podbean, and Apple. +++ Podcast art: Angela George. Podcast music: Jonathan Koe.

Ted is joined by Angela Montoya, whose debut novel, Sinner's Isle, received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and trade reviews from Booklist and The Bulletin. Her second novel, A Cruel Thirst, was published last month and has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and an Editor's Pick: Best YA of December by Amazon Books. Angela also co-hosts the podcast Of the Publishing Persuasion, which is where she and Ted first talked. He had so much fun that he asked her to come on Working Drafts to celebrate the release of A Cruel Thirst—which she describes as “Zorro meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer”—and dive into what she's working on now. Titled Carnival Fantástico, that third novel, scheduled for release in spring 2026, is a second-chance romance set amidst a traveling carnival, with a dose of secrets and magic. Here, Angela describes the process of writing a book while you're actively seeing readers respond to your previous one and how she finds ways to draw on that feedback to make the next novel even better, a skill Ted freely admits to envying. In addition, they discuss the genesis of Angela's idea for Carnival Fantástico, the collaborative process that has shaped the book into its current form, and the struggle that comes with knowing you have to cut your word count—along with realizing everyone isn't going to think your first draft is brilliant as is. Episode Links:Angela's WebsiteOf the Publishing Persuasion Podcast (+ wherever you get your pods)Working Drafts episodes and info for requesting transcripts as well as more details about Ted and his books are available on his website, thetedfox.com.

15 years after her MFA, and 4 years after scrapping a book that just wasn't working, Meghan Perry's debut novel WATER FINDS A WAY is receiving strong positive reviews, including a coveted Kirkus star. She joins Jared to talk about the realities of post-grad writing, going “scorched earth” on revision, and the process of turning short stories into a full-length novel. Plus, she talks about grounding her work in a remote Maine fishing village, overlooked American cultures, and the hardships—and community—her characters face. Meghan Perry graduated with an MFA from Emerson College in 2009 and currently directs the Writing Center at St. John's Preparatory School in the Boston area. She has published stories in Cold Mountain Review, Sycamore Review, The Fourth River, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, WATER FINDS A WAY, was published in November 2024 by Delphinium Books with an audiobook by Penguin Random House. The novel has received a Kirkus star and been featured in Newsday and Condé Nast as one of the top books of this fall. Find her at meghanperry.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Happy New Year, listeners! It's the Fully Booked Year in Review, featuring editor-in-chief Tom Beer and Kirkus correspondent Michael Schaub. On this jolly special episode, we take a deep dive into the weirdest book news of 2024 and reveal the year's most popular episode.

We conclude our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to YA. First, debut graphic novelist Agnes Lee joins us to discuss 49 Days (Levine Querido, March 5), one of Kirkus' Best YA Books of 2024: “A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath, shown from both sides” (starred review). Then editor Laura Simeon explores some more of the year's best YA.

We continue our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to MIDDLE GRADE. First, New York Times-bestselling author Annie Barrows joins us to discuss Stella & Marigold, illustrated by Sophie Blackall (Chronicle Books, Oct. 1), one of Kirkus' Best Books of 2024.Kirkus: “All the heart. None of the pablum. Sisterhood at its finest and freshest” (starred review). Then editors Laura Simeon and Mahnaz Dar highlight more of the year's best middle grade.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louise Erdrich discusses her new novel, The Mighty Red, about a group of people who come together in North Dakota to attend a wedding, including a man determined to steal the soon-to-be-wife away.

Few people are better at demystifying the byzantine complexities of the American healthcare system than the former CEO of Kaiser Permanente, Robert Pearl, MD. So what does Pearl make of Trump's nomination of RFK Jr for Secretary of Health and Human Services? Is this a thinly veiled excuse to go to war with the current American healthcare system? Or does RFK Jr really have the acuity to responsibly reform a system in desperate need of reinvention?For 18 years, ROBERT PEARL, MD served as CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente). He is also former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. In these roles he led 10,000 physicians, 38,000 staff and was responsible for the nationally recognized medical care of 5 million Kaiser Permanente members on the west and east coasts. He is a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on healthcare strategy, technology, and leadership. Pearl is board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, receiving his medical degree from Yale, followed by a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford University. He's the author of three books: Mistreated: Why We Think We're Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We're Usually Wrong, a Washington Post bestseller (2017); Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors & Patients, a Kirkus star recipient (2021); and his newest book ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine (April 2024). All profits from sales of his books go to Doctors Without Borders. Dr. Pearl is a LinkedIn “Top Voice” in healthcare and host of the popular podcasts Fixing Healthcare and Medicine: The Truth. He publishes two monthly healthcare newsletters reaching 50,000+ combined subscribers. A frequent keynote speaker, Pearl has presented at The World Healthcare Congress, the Commonwealth Club, TEDx, HLTH, NCQA Quality Talks, the National Primary Care Transformation Summit, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and international conferences in Brazil, Australia, India, and beyond. Pearl's insights on generative AI in healthcare have been featured in Associated Press, USA Today, MSN, FOX Business, Forbes, Fast Company, WIRED, Global News, Modern Healthcare, Medscape, Medpage Today, AI in Healthcare, Doximity, Becker's Hospital Review, the Advisory Board, the Journal of AHIMA, and more.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

We continue our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to PICTURE BOOKS. First, Ying Chang Compestine joins us to discuss Growing Up Under a Red Flag, illustrated by Xinmei Liu (Rocky Pond Books/Penguin, May 7), one of Kirkus' Best Picture Books of 2024. Kirkus“A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule.” Then young readers' editor Mahnaz Dar highlights more of the year's best picture books.

Pickleballers by Ilana Long Amazon.com A pickleball newbie looking to recover from life's swings and misses crosses paddles with love in this debut romantic comedy. Meg Bloomberg is in a pickle. When Meg's ex turns out to be a total player, she and her bestie take off for a mood-lifting pickleball excursion to Bainbridge Island. It's supposed to be an easy lob, a way to heal, not the opening serve to a new courtside romance that's doomed to spin out. No matter how Meg tries, she can't shake her feelings for Ethan Fine. A charismatic environmental consultant and Bainbridge local, Ethan seems like the real dill. But when Meg discovers that Ethan is sabotaging her home court, she decides the match is over. It's time for Meg to take control of her own game. And maybe, just maybe…love will bounce back.About the author Ilana Long is the author of PICKLEBALLERS, a romantic comedy. Preorder for Novemeber 12, 2024! A pickleball newbie looking to recover from life's swings and misses crosses paddles with love in this debut romantic comedy. Other books: ZIGGY'S BIG IDEA (Kar-Ben, Lerner Publishing, 2014) noted for its “dialogue-driven approach” (Kirkus review.) Several of her non-fiction essays are published in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL (2016-2021) Simon & Schuster. Ilana is the author of a regular column for "The Tico Times", Costa Rica's national English language newspaper, readership 12,000. Besides writing, Ilana travels and lives abroad, hikes, paints, acts, sings, teaches, and parents her twin teens.

We continue our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to NONFICTION. First, Nell Irvin Painter joins us to discuss I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays (Doubleday, April 23), one of Kirkus' Best Nonfiction Books of 2024. Kirkus: “A vibrant, insightful collection from an indispensable voice” (starred review). Then nonfiction editor John McMurtrie discusses more of the year's best nonfiction.

We're kicking off our Best Books of 2024 coverage with a special episode dedicated to FICTION. First, Elise Bryant joins us to discuss on of Kirkus' Best Fiction Books of 2024: the tantalizing mystery novel It's Elementary (Berkley, July 9). Then fiction editor Laurie Muchnick dishes on the year's best novels and story collections.

Welcome true believers to X-Men Horoscopes where each week our host Lodro Rinzler is in conversation with a special guest to discuss the X-Men issue that aligns with a significant month and year from their life and what that issue reveals about their future. Novelist and comic book writer Alex Segura joins our host for a romp where the original five X-Men from the past time travel to the present from the past and the future X-Men from the future are also in the present and they want the past X-Men to go back to the past. Confused yet? Well strap in friend do we take you for a ride this week as we study X-Men 12 (from September, 2013). Also in this episode: what if it's a fireman calendar but it's just Magneto for each month Cyclops always puts Magik on his teams because he HATES getting his jets shot out of the sky and it happens ALL THE TIME Eva Bell is NOT an X-Man from the future the Zen koan of Xorn is Magneto is Xorn one of the best twists in comic history Angel exists in this comic but literally everyone forgot he was there What does any of this mean for Alex's marriage? Tune in to find out! Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor's Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful,” and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. Secret Identity was also listed as one of the Best Mysteries of the Year by NPR, Kirkus, Booklist, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and more, and was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Hardcover, the Lefty and Barry Awards for Best Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the LA Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category. His next novel, the YA Spider-Verse adventure Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow is out now from Disney Books/Marvel Press. Marvel fans will know his voluminous work on Star Wars comics and the wildly acclaimed by me Spider Society series. You can find more of Alex on his Substack or on social media at Instagram, Blue Sky or Threads. More of Lodro Rinzler's work can be found here and here and you can follow the podcast on Instagram at xmenpanelsdaily where we post X-Men comic panels...daily. Have a question or comment for a future episode? Reach out at xmenhoroscopes.com

Notes and Links to Lauren Markham's Work       Lauren Markham is a writer based in northern California. She is the author of the recent A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging (Riverhead, 2024) which The New Yorker listed as one of “The Best Books We've Read in 2024 So Far” and which Kirkus reviews called “a remarkable, unnerving, and cautionary portrait of a global immigration crisis.” A fiction writer, essayist and journalist, her work most often concerns issues related to youth, migration, the environment and her home state of California. Markham's first book, The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life (Crown, 2017) was the winner of the 2018 Ridenhour Book Prize, the Northern California Book Award, and a California Book Award Silver Prize. It was named a Barnes & Noble Discover Selection, a New York Times Book Critics' Top Book of 2017, and was shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and the L.A. Times Book Award and longlisted for a Pen America Literary Award in Biography.  Markham has reported from the border regions of Greece and Mexico and Thailand and Texas; from arctic Norway; from gang-controlled regions of El Salvador; from depopulating towns in rural Sardinia and rural Guatemala, too; from home school havens in southern California; from imperiled forests in Oregon and Washington; from the offices of overwhelmed immigration attorneys in L.A. and Tijuana; from the upscale haunts of women scammed on the Upper East Side.  Her writing has appeared in outlets such as VQR (where she is a contributing editor), Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, Guernica, Freeman's, Mother Jones, Orion, The Atlantic, Lit Hub, California Sunday, Zyzzyva, The Georgia Review, The Best American Travel Writing 2019, and on This American Life. She has been awarded fellowships from The Mesa Refuge, UC Berkeley, Middlebury College, the McGraw Center, the French American Foundation, the Society for Environmental Journalists, the Silvers Prize, the de Groot Foundation, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.  In addition to writing, Markham has spent fifteen years working at the intersection of education and immigration. She regularly teaches writing in various community writing centers as well as at the Ashland University MFA in Writing Program, the University of San Francisco and St. Mary's MFA in Writing Program. Her third book, Immemorial, will be published by Transit Books in 2025.       Buy A Map of Future Ruins   Lauren's Website   Los Angeles Review of Books' Review of A Map of Future Ruins   At about 4:00, Lauren makes the case that not all young reading has to be high-brow as she discusses formative works as a kid and adolescent, which included Nancy Drew and Milan Kundera At about 6:50, Lauren responds to Pete's question about how she thinks and writes in diverse genres, and how her reading of varied writers informs her own work At about 10:40, Lauren shouts out Vauhini Vara, Hernan Diaz, Nathan Heller, Jia Tolentino, and other treasured contemporary writers At about 12:45, Lauren talks about how writing informs her teaching, and vice versa At about 15:25, Pete asks Lauren about seeds for A Map of Future Ruins and how her work with many undocumented and refugee students has affected her writing At about 19:00, Lauren and Pete discuss ideas of belonging and exclusion and pride and heritage in connection to Lauren's Greek heritage and reporting trips there At about 23:10, Ideas of “insiders” and “outsiders” and the challenges of immigration paperwork are discussed At about 26:05, Pete and Lauren reflect on a powerful quote from Warsan Shire regarding people being impelled to emigrate At about 26:55, Lauren gives background on the conditions that made Moria on the Greek slang of Lesbos a “purgatory” At about 31:20, Demetrios, a representative Greek from the book, and his views on immigration and “speak[ing] bird” is discussed  At about 36:05, Lauren expands upon how Greece as the “starting point of democracy” has been corrupted and co-opted and points to a stellar expose on truth from Kwame Anthony Appiah At about 41:50, The two discuss the arbitrary nature of “The West” and Greece and its ideals and ideas of a “Western lineage At about 43:55, Lauren expands upon the ideas of “proximity to Whiteness” with particular historical relevance for Greeks, Italians, and Southern Europeans At about 44:55, Pete and Lauren reference the horrific images of the Syrian refugee whose death galvanized support, as well as Ali Sayed's story, traced in her book At about 46:40, Lauren explains terminology and methods of doing business by Turkish and other smugglers At about 48:10, Turkish and Greek relations and how they affected the lack of patrols is highlighted  At about 49:20, “The Moria Six” and Ali's story and trials are discussed in relation to the fire referenced at the beginning of the book At about 52:00, The impositions of maps and Empire are reflected upon  At about 53:05, “Whiteness” and its imposition on “classical form” and racist science are explored, as written about in the book At about 54:55, The two trace the initial and later welcome for refugees to Greek islands and ideas of the original meaning of “asylum”; Lauren also highlights many incredible people helping refugees to this day, as well as ideas of “invaders” and scapegoats At about 58:40, Discussion of Greek austerity and true issues of difficulty for are referenced  At about 59:50, The two discuss Lauren's section in the book regarding Darien Gap and connections to Lauren's family's own emigration/immigration story At about 1:02:00, The two highlight ideas of community among refugees, and Pete asks Lauren about pessimism and optimism and the book's title At about 1:03:25, Ali's unfinished story is referenced  At about 1:04:05-Laser Round Questions! East Bay Booksellers, Point Reyes Books and Green Apple are shouted out as good places to buy her books At about 1:05:05, Immemorial, Lauren's 2025 release, is described  What a pleasure it has been to speak with Lauren. Continued good luck to her with her future writing and important work. Thank you for listening to this episode of The Chills at Will Podcast.    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Jeff Pearlman, F. Douglas Brown, Matt Bell, Rachel Yoder, Jorge Lacera, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work.    I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 261 with Greg Mania, who is a writer, comedian, and award-winning screenwriter. He's also author of the debut memoir, Born to Be Public, which was an NPR Best Book of 2020 and an O, Oprah Magazine Best LGBTQ Book of 2020. Greg's work has appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Oprah Daily, PAPER, among other international online and print platforms. This episode will air on November 12. Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.      

Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Emily features a conversation with writer and art historian Bridget Quinn. Bridget discusses her latest book 'Portrait of a Woman,' which delves into the life of Adelaide Le Béliard, a pioneering 18th-century artist. She shares her journey of discovering Adelaide's work, her challenges in a male-dominated Royal Academy, and her rivalry with Marie Antoinette's painter, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. The episode also includes an exploration of how art and letters were used to reconstruct Adelaide's story and a touching discussion of how Bridget's own experiences shaped her writing. This episode highlights essential themes of art, feminism, rivalry, and the force of Adelaide's will against significant odds.About Author Bridget Quinn:Bridget Quinn is author of the books She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened Next, an Amazon Editors' pick for Best History books 2020, and the award-winning Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order), an Amazon pick for Best Art & Photography Books 2017 and a 2018 Amelia Bloomer List selection of recommended feminist literature from the American Library Association. Translated into four languages, in 2018 Broad Strokes was a national finalist for best art book of the year in Ukraine. NPR's Susan Stamberg calls it “a terrific essay collection” with “spunky attitudinal, SMART writing,” marking the second time “attitudinal” has been used about her work (first: Kirkus 1996). Her current book is Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry & Revolution in the Life of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, more than thirty years in the making.Raised on the high plains of Montana with six brothers, two sisters, a devout and sporty mother and a WWII Marine-turned-lawyer father, in a home surrounded by cows and nuclear missile silos, she's lived since in Norway, New York, Oregon and California. She's taught art history, history and writing for more than two decades; worked in museums and for galleries and private collections; worked at climbing gyms on both coasts, and was a researcher for the first several ESPN X Games, covering rock climbing, ice climbing, BMX freestyle and downhill mountain biking.A graduate of New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and a regular contributor to online arts magazine Hyperallergic, she's a nationally sought-after speaker on women and art. She is a contributing editor to On the Seawall, and the former co-host of The GrottoPod: Writers on Writing. An avid sports fan and Iron(wo)man triathlete, her Narrative magazine essay “At Swim, Two Girls” was included in The Best American Sports Writing 2013. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family, dogs, and hella bikes.Visit Bridget's  Website:  BridgetQuinnAuthor.comFollow  on Instagram:  @BQuinnterestLearn more about and purchase Portrait of a Woman - CLICK HERE--About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women's Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWilFollow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast--CREDITS:Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson. Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 LicenseThe Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions. For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com

Ernest Scheyder is an award-winning journalist, author, and senior correspondent for Reuters. He specializes in distilling complex topics for a wide range of audiences, including and especially everyday consumers directly affected by regulatory, political, and industry transitions. In 2024, he published the widely acclaimed book, "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives" (One Signal/Simon & Schuster), a human-focused narrative exploring the people that live on the energy transition's front lines and an urgent guide to the rapidly growing critical minerals supply chain. The book was named a top pick by Fortune's editors and earned plaudits from The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, Barron's, WBUR's On Point, Science magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC World, Kirkus (starred review) and many others. Energy historian Daniel Yergin declared the book “vividly captures the physical and political landscape over which the future is being fought.” Ernest was our guest on Episode 149 of the Agents of Innovation podcast. You can also watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ClJUJpwqGak You can learn more about Ernest Scheyder and his book at: https://www.ernestscheyder.com Ernest will have two appearances in Miami during the Miami Book Fair: Saturday, November 23 Panelist, National Book Award Long List Top 10 List Recipient for Non-Fiction, Room 8301, moderated by Ruth Dickey Sunday, November 24 1:00 PM in the AI Center Find more details about the Miami Book Fair at: https://www.miamibookfair.com Follow the Agents of Innovation podcast on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovationradio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/agentinnovation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentsOfInnovationPodcast Subscribe to this channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRFF3p8qmrEG4l4uR1BDZQg You can also subscribe to the Fearless Journeys travel channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwAHpA_AXxBafhI2jH8_rtg You can support this podcast and our Fearless Journeys community on our Patreon account: www.patreon.com/fearlessjourneys You can also join our network through the Fearless Journeys community at: https://www.fearlessjourneys.org/

Memorials by Richard Chizmar Amazon.com A group of students encounter a supernatural terror while on a road trip through Appalachia in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the “unforgettable and scary” (Harlan Coben) Chasing the Boogeyman. 1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another. But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can't help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here? About the author Richard Chizmar is the author of Gwendy's Button Box (with Stephen King) and A Long December, which was nominated for numerous awards. His fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and multiple editions of The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA's Board of Trustee's award. His third short story collection, A Long December, was recently published to starred reviews in both Kirkus and Booklist, and was featured in Entertainment Weekly. Chizmar's work has been translated into many languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor. Please visit the author's website at RichardChizmar.com.

Brooke Champagne joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about rejecting and accepting identity, growing up in New Orleans and feeling bifurcated by race, language, and class, knowing you're a writer, humor on the page, selecting work for a collection, why we write, watching ourselves continue to make the same mistakes, deciding what stories are ours, how much permission we ask, preparing for editorial work on our projects, keeping the bigger picture in mind, the many different versions of ourselves, seeing yourself as a persona, and her new book Nola Face: A Latina's Life in the Big Easy.   Also in this episode: -writing about trauma -Proust -the nature of art and truth   Books mentioned in this episode: The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick The Lifespan of a Fact by John Degoda Hell if We Don't Change Our Ways by Brittany Means   Brooke Champagne is the author of Nola Face: A Latina's Life in the Big Easy, published with the Crux Series in Literary Nonfiction at the University of Georgia Press. Nola Face has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Independent Book Review. Champagne's work has been selected as Notable in several editions of the Best American Essays anthology series, and she is the recipient of the 2023-2024 Alabama State Council on the Arts Literary Fellowship in Prose. She lives with her husband and children in Tuscaloosa, where she is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA Program at the University of Alabama.   Connect with Brooke: Website: https://www.brookechampagne.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuggyGirl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/champagne_brooke/ x: https://x.com/brchampagne Get Nola Face: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820366531/nola-face/   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and lives in Seattle with her family where she teaches memoir workshops and is working on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com   Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Newsletter sign-up: https://ronitplank.com/#signup   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://twitter.com/RonitPlank https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers